1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to a surgical instrument and, more specifically, to a surgical instrument for clamping, joining and/or cutting, and/or joining tissue.
2. Background of Related Art
Certain surgical stapling instruments are used for applying rows of staples through compressed living tissue. These surgical stapling instruments are employed, for example, for fastening tissue or organs prior to transection or resection or during anastomoses. In some cases, these surgical stapling instruments are utilized for occluding organs in thoracic and abdominal procedures.
Typically, such surgical stapling instruments include an anvil assembly, a cartridge assembly for supporting an array of surgical staples, an approximation mechanism for approximating the cartridge and anvil assemblies, an alignment or guide pin assembly for capturing tissue between the cartridge and anvil assemblies and for maintaining alignment between the cartridge and anvil assemblies during approximation and firing, and a firing mechanism for ejecting the surgical staples from the cartridge assembly.
In use, a surgeon initially advances the alignment pin assembly and subsequently approximates the anvil and cartridge assemblies. In some instruments, the alignment pin is automatically advanced with approximation of the anvil and cartridge assemblies. Next, the surgeon fires the instrument to place staples in tissue. Optionally, the surgeon may use the same instrument or a separate device to cut the tissue adjacent or between the row(s) of staples. In some instances, the stapler includes a knife which cuts tissue as the staples are fired.
In certain procedures, it may be difficult to access the target organ or tissue for resection and application of rows of staples. It would therefore be advantageous to provide a stapling instrument that improves access to hard to reach areas and provides improved maneuverability of the instrument.